Arc Welding: What is it? How Does it Work?

If you are using an arc welder you are not alone as that welding process is being used right around the world. You can see an arc welder in virtually any workshop or farm shed. Manual metal arc welding is also know as stick or arc welding, this is how we commonly reffer to it.

But don't go around town saying that you can do or are doing MMAW welding or that you are doing manual metal arc welding. People will look at you and think you are a few beers short of a six pack. It is just called arc welding or stick welding.

Essentially an arc welder is just a big electrical transformer. Its job is to transform electricity. What does it transform it into you ask? Well the transformer in an arc welder will transform the power coming into the welder, i.e. from the power point at 110v, 220v, 240 or 415v etc into a more stable and controlled power supply that is usable for welding.

Most arc welding and stick welding machines are DC, which is direct current. The electricity comes in from the power lead that is plugged into the wall socket at say 240v AC, and the transformer does its bit and steps the voltage down and rectifies the circuit so that it is now a DC source, ideal for welding.

You can actually weld using two car batteries buy hooking them together. If you add the two together you will get 24volts and the raw amps that a single car battery can put out is huge. Now you have two of them and you can actually weld with this.

If you keep a set of good quality jumper leads in the back of you four wheel drive and a packet of welding rods you too will be able to do on the spot welding. A good size of rod to use for this would be in the 2.0mm diameter range. Use either E6012 or E6013 rods, as they are the easy to weld with.

Any smart traveler will have a set of jumper leads in the back of the vehicle. So all you have to do is join the two batteries together using some existing wiring from the vehicle. This is done by joining the positive terminal of one battery to the negative terminal of the other battery.

Then simply clamp the jumper leads to the now larger 24volt battery, and you have a quick and simple arc welding machine that you can use to make roadside repairs in the middle of nowhere.

Yes arc welding is easy but you must learn how to arc weld right the first time.

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